Veterinary immunologists have developed a vaccine for a virus that\u2019s one of the the leading killers of elephants in captivity and in the wild.<\/p>\n
With no cure, and with a penchant for claiming the lives of elephants calves, elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) has been responsible in recent years for the deaths of five elephants at England\u2019s Chester Zoo in, which participated in the development of the vaccine.<\/p>\n
The EEHV vaccine\u2019s successful early trials have been heralded as a \u201clandmark moment,\u201d for the protection of wild and captive animals in conservation herds.Delivered in a two-dose set, with the first containing a harmless, dead version of the virus and a second delivering a booster to increase the immune response, it was found to trigger a robust immune response against EEHV with no harmful side effects.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a landmark moment in our work to develop safe and efficacious vaccines,\u201d said Professor Falko Steinbach, senior author of the study and a veterinary immunology professor at the University of Surrey. \u201cFor the first time, we have shown in elephants that a vaccine can trigger the type of immune response needed to protect them against EEHV.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team behind the development of the vaccine, which included scientists from the University of Surrey, Chester Zoo, and UK\u2019s Animal and Plant Health Agency, published a study presenting the findings from the vaccine trial in Nature Communications.<\/p>\n
It showed by comparing blood samples of vaccinated elephants vs non-vaccinated elephants that the drug should be able to prevent herd members from dying of EEHV, and support conservation breeding programs across the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cEEHV has taken the lives of so many elephants, both in human care and in the wild, but this vaccine offers hope,\u201d said Dr. Katie Edwards, lead conservation scientist at the Chester Zoo. \u201cWe can\u2019t yet say this will be the end of EEHV deaths, but we have taken a massive step towards that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n